This classic 1974 collection of urban children's chants and games has long been out of print. In author Maureen Kenney's words: "There may be an exciting world of rhythm and melody going on right in your neighborhood. To tune in on what's happening, join the children on the playground or sidewalk - and listen. Chances are your own local variety of play chants is being sung and clapped to, or used as accompaniments to bouncing balls and jump ropes, and perhaps you will find some that no one else has yet discovered. It is fascinating to speculate on how these chants travel, because unlike other folk traditions which are passed from parent to child, these are passed from child to child. The texts often tell a story which reflects life as it is in the urban ghetto, with strong doses of anxiety, death, and the kind of humor which satirizes both the establishment and oneself. My hope is that these songs and rhymes continue to be chanted and the games played; that wherever children use a sidewalk for play space, this tradition will continue."